The Sun. — London, England, 1864-12-02 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA. (From the Times Correspondent.) NEW YORK, Nov. 18. General Butler is the hero, and the " olive branch!' the symbol of the moment. How long the hero and symbol will remain in favour none but a rash pro• phet would venture to predict. The speech which that grim and hitherto unpopular personage deli vered at the Fifth Avenue Hotel has exhibited him in a new and unexpected light, and fairly taken the town by storm. It is- asserted and believed that in recommending magnanimity to the President as the essential and crowning grain of the new strength he acquired by his reelection Gen. Butler spoke on the prompting of superior authority, and that Mr Lincoln is prepared to offer an amnesty to the Southern people and their leaders, and the re-estab lishment of the old Constitution in all its integrity, on the sole condition of the return of the seceded States to the Union. It is furthermore reported that a commission of three, if not of seven, of the most eminent statesmen and lawyers of the North is to proceed immediately to Richmond to convey this gracious message. And what is more extraor dinary than all is the simple faith of large num bers of the people of this city—Democrats as well as Republicans—rich men and poor—that the South will clutch at the offer; and that Mr Lincoln on the delivery of his second "inaugural" on the 4th of March ensuing will be enabled to announce to an admiring, if not to an awe-struck, world that the Union is reestablished—firm as it stood in the second !Presidency of Washington, with slavery left to the care of the South to abolish or maintain as it shall deem fit, and with the combined armies of Lee and Grant ready and willing to fight any enemy or indeed any two enemies that:may offer, especially France and England. Wall-street on Wednesday after the departure of the Persia, took the matter into such deep and earnest favour that gold could not maintain itself at its previous rates, and its pre• mium fell from 140 to 128—a decline of 12 per cent. Yesterday it opened at 129 and fell rapidly to 1181. Today it fell as low as 110, or a total decline of 30 per cent. since General Butler first gave it the down ward impetus. Political circumstances, however, are not considered in Wall-street as sufficient of them selves to account for the rapid fall, as the determi nation of Mr Secretary Fussenden to anticipate the payment of the interest of the gold-bearing bonds, due on Jan. 1 next, and the consequent probability of an adequacy of gold in the market for the neces sities of commerce during the next few weeks have a tendency to restrict the speculation for a rise, and to favour the operation of the gamblers who calcu lated on a fall, The more cautious bankers and brokers are of opinion that the depression will be temporary; that Mr F usgenden's projects to enhance the value of the greenback, like those of his prede cessor, must of necessity fail ; that all hopes founded upon the acceptance by the South of peace proposi. tions on the Butler model are fallacious ; that the war will continue for fully another year, if not for the whole term of MrLincoln's second lease of power, and that fresh loans and fresh issues of legal-tender paper money will be the inevitable results. No one seems to doubt, however, that some such offer will be made to the South as General Butler indicated. Bat if General Butler really spoke the sentiments of the President, the victory of the Bth inst. will have had the singular effect of converting Mr Lincoln to the opinion of the minority. The programme sketched by General Buller is no other than the programme of General M'Clellan. If Mr Lincoln adopt it he will virtually withdraw his hasty letter, addressed to Niagara to all whom it may concern, renounce his pretensions to abolish slavery by proclamation—or without the concurrence of the Legislature of the States in which the institution exists—and accept the principles of the Conservative Democracy. It is obvious that he can only do this at the hazard of a rupture with that branch of the Republican and Abolitionist party of which General Fremont, Mr Charles Sumner, Mr Frederick Douglas, Mr Thad. dens Stevens, Mr Wendell Phillips, Mr Lloyd Garrison, and the Rev. Dr Cheever are the orna• ments and exponents. Perhaps he may consider himself strong enough to incur it, and be wilting to assume the responsibility. It is more probable, how• ever, that the offer if made will not be made in good faith ; that Mr Lincoln knows it will be rejected and that the real object of making it is to create dis union in the South, to acquire for the North a re putation for generosity which it does not merit, and justify to the world, at home and abroad, the resort to that policy of subjugation and extermination which Gen. Butler, even when advocating the ten der of the olive branch, seemed to consider as the more effectual method of procedure. But if Mr Lincoln makes the offer in good faith, or in bad faith, as a matter cf generosity, or a matter of ex pediency, the Southern people and leaders are under no obligation, either of necessity or policy, to return a categorical answer. Their reply, if they will listen to any terms whatever, may perhaps assume some such shape as the following :—" We will treat as equal to equal. Ley down your arms and we will lay down ours, Let there be an armistice for three, six, or eight months, that the several States of the former Union may meet peaceably in Convention, and therein decide whether a now and better Union be desirable or practicable. It was by this mode that the original Union was formed, It is by this alone that it can be re-established." The South has shown by the mouth of several of its most eminent men, such as Vice. President Stephens, Governor Brown, of Georgia, Mr Boyce, of North Carolina and many others, and by articles in the Richmond,i Charleston, and various leading journals in other cities of the Confederacy, that it will favour an armistice and a Convention of the States ; that it looks with approbation, if not with positive plea. sure, upon the principles enunciated in the Chicago platform, which General McClellan, so fatally for himself and his party, repudiated and rejected, and that this last hope—a forlorn one it may be—of restoring the Union will not be rudely or peremp. torily dashed to the ground by the refusal of the Southern States, severally and collectively, to take part in the discussions that would follow an armis tice. No one in this city who has travelled in the South, and knows anything of the character and spirit of the Southern people, no refugee or exile from the Border States who finds a temporary abiding place beyond the theatre of the war, and no constitutional lawyer who adheres to the doc trine of State rights as the cornerstone of the old Union, believes in his heart that any offer of ame nesty, or any guarantee to the South for the protec tion of slavery will have the slightest effect. They argue that the offer of an amnesty to men who think their cause noble and holy will be construed into an insult ; and that the Southern leaders, as well as the Conservative and Peace Democracy of the North, are convinced that any restoration of the Union distasteful to the Abolitionist and Federa party would be no reunion except in name, and might be merely the prelude to new misunderstand. ing, new commotion, and a new secession, in which Massachusetts and the other New England States would perform the part of South Carolina. Peace propositions of the Butler style are grounded on the assumption that the South is worn out, disspirited, and unable to raise either men or means to con tinue the contest. The assumption is not justified by any authentic facts which have come to the knowlege of Vee Northern people, or by the mili tary or political situation of the Confederate Go vernment. Now, as there have ever been, there are four paths to peace :—Pirst, a recognition of the Southern Confederacy 1, -Y the great Powers of Europe ; second, an armistice and a Convention of the States; third, " war to the hilt," as General Butler logically, but mercilessly, recommen ds; and fourth, the mutual exhaustion of the combatant,. Mr Lincoln's re.election points in the third direction, and may ultimately diverge into the fourth. It is for General Lee and the Confederate armies to lead it into the second by the achievement of such victories over their enemies as would discourage the North, and predispose the bulk of the people to acquiesce in that General Convention of the States which is the only rational, and which might prove to be the most effectual, means of settling the difficulty. The affair of the Florida continues to be a theme of discussion in all circles. It begins to be ad mitted, even by some of the most violent 'minters of the right of the Federal ship of war to follow a " pirate" and destroy her in any waters—friendly or neutral—that the circumstances under which Captain Collins captured the unsuspecting Confede• rate were, to say the least, unfortunate. All parties, however, trust to Mr Seward to extricate the Go. vernment from the:difficulty, to pa?ity Brazil, and satisfy her wounded honour, without, however, surrendering the Florida. It is suggested if Brazil raise this point, as it is feared she will, that the Federal Government promise to restore the Florida at the close of the war. Should Brazil object to this compromise as insufficient to meet the justice of the case or satisfy her offended dignity a ready means is hinted at and justified by which to evade all further controversy. Under no circumstances, it is argued, could the pride of the Federal Go vernment submit to the shock of delivering up the vessel. The crew may be released from captivity and sent either to the Confederates States or to Brazil ; but sooner than the Florida shall be Bur. rendered some careless but patriotic American on board will set fire to her—accidentally. So unto ward a circumstance, should it occur, would, of course, be much regretted by Government, but it would make an end of all difficulty, and if any Power or person were thereby aggrieved the full value of the ship, in gold or greenbacks, would be tendered in full satisfaction of a claim which it would be impossible to meet in any other fashion. Mr Lincoln, in reply to a deputation that waited upon him yesterday to congratulate him upon the abolition of slavery in Maryland, asserted in current American slang that it was a " big thing." Doubt less the fraud by which the result was attained was a big thing and the imposition of a test oath which disfranchised more than one-half of the population of the State was,a very big thing. Whether in fu. tare times, should the whole people of Maryland no longer disfranchised appoint a new convention to revise the constitution imposed on them by force of bayonets, the unconditional and uncompensated emancipation of the slaves will be considered legal and binding upon the slaveholders is a matter that admits of very serious debate. In the meantime the Federal General in command at Baltimore seems to be doing his utmost to make the enforced emanci pation of the negroes gratuitously unpalatable to the unresisting citizens. Two years ago there existed in Franklin-street, Baltimore, the fashionable, and in spite of Democracy, it may be added the wide.. cratic street of that pleasant and hospitable city, an establishment called the Maryland Club. It was the resort of the principal inhabitants of the place, and. as every Englishman who has been in Maryland knows, was open to every properly recommended traveller who desired to enjoy the best society of the State. The club had a good cook, a choice collection of the best wines and cigars, an admirable library, and some excellent pictures. As Gen. Schenck, the military commandant, was not invited to become even an honorary member, and as he would certainly have been blackballed if he had regularly sought admission, he closed it by military authority,alleging that it was the haunt of Secessionists and traitors. In the alarm created by the invasion of Pennsyl• vania in 1863, which culminated in the battle of Gettysburg the New York Seventh Regiment of Militia, which was sent down to aid in the defence of Maryland, was quartered in the club, and the gallant young men soon made an end of the choice clarets, burgundies, and champagnes, and the equally choice cigars that were left by the extruded members. Sinee that time the house has remained empty. General Wallace, the worthy successor of General Schenck, thinking it a pity that so fine a building, in the very best part of the city, should be untenanted, has resolved, in spite of the pro testations of the shareholders of the club who own the property, to convert it into a lazaretto and refuge for aged and infirm negroes, and especially for those who in gaining their frac dom under the new Constitution have gained at the same time the right to starve for want of the em ployment which there are none to offer them. As in fixing upon this particular house for this praise worthy purpose the General was supposed to act Less from philanthropic regard for the negroes than from a desire to annoy the too aristocratic, the too wealthy, the too refined, and too Secessionist inha bitants of the street, a deputation of their body was sent to the War Department at Washington a few days ago, to ascertain upon superior authority whether some other " location' . could not be found for the proposedlifirmary or house of refuge, and whether the real owners of the property might not be allowed to let it as a private residence. The re sult was a reply in the negative, coupled with a polite reminder that Maryland was a free State, that n negro was quite as good as a white man, and that the inhabitants of Franklin.street ought to think themselves flattered rather than insulted that their beautiful thoroughfare should have been selected as the site for so beneficent an institution. Such paltry spite will recommend itself to the contempt of everybody. The incident proves, however, that if Maryland be a free Stat e f or th e negro it i s no t a 'ree State for white men, if they happen to be gen. emen or owners of house property. The Richmond Sentinel gives the following ver sion of the alleged murder of the Federal officer, Captain Meigs, in retaliation for whose death Gen. Sheridan ordered the burning of every house within five miles of the scene of the occurrence : "Three Confederate scouts, under lead of -, ono of our bravest and most accomplished scouts, were on a reconnaissance, when they discovered the near approach of three Federals. On the instant they reined aside and awaited their arrival. They proved to be Captain Meigs and two attendants. Our soldiers immediately ordered them to surrender, each of our men confronting one of the Federals. Captain Meigs, who rode in front, was in this man ner summoned by the leader of the Confederate scouts. His two followers surrendered on the word, but Captain Meigs was of a different spirit. Drawing his pistol he fired on his antagonist, in. Siding a very severe, and it was supposed, a mortal wound. The ball entered the right breast, and made its exit on the opposite side of the body. Wounded as he was the Confederate then delivered his fire, which proved fatal. Captain Meigs died on the instant. Anxious on account of the wound of their leader, the other two Confederates betook themselves to hasty preparations for bringing off their comrade; In the haste and confusion of the moment ono of the Federal prisoners made his escape; the other was brought off. The person of Captain Meigs was not examined for the same rea• son, and the opportunity of capturing the valuable papers he bore was lost. It was not until after wards indeed that it was known who he was. It will be pleasing to our readers to be informed that the wounded Confederate was safely brought within our lines, and that his condition is now very pro• mising. It is supposed that the ball struck a rib and made the circuit of his body instead of a pass , - age through. An actor in many a gallant conflict in the past he will doubtless be soon again not with out honour. It was no fault of his true aim and quick and steady hand that his antagonist did not die instead of him. The fortune of the fight was against him, and he fell. A death otherwise ho nourable has been made the occasion by a brutal officer of cruelties to women and children that asso ciate the fall of Meigs with an odious infamy." BALLOON ASCENT.—Mr. Coxwell, accompanied by Mr. Glaisher, F.R,S., yesterday ascended, under the sanction of the War Department, from Woolwich Arsenal in the military balloon Mars, for the purpose of commencing a series of winter observations. The ascent yesterday was necessarily confined to a moderate elevation. The inflation consumed about 30,000 cubic feet of gas, and was completed at half-past two, when, Mr Glaisher, having adjusted his instruments at the head of the car, the two explorers took their places, and the balloon having been liberated started from a west-north-westerly position to wards the east, finally bearing off south-east, where it was visible f or a considerable time, apparen' ly some di stance off Gravesend. Tho w ea th er was hi g hl y f avou rable, Shortly bolero the prep arat i ons were commenced Mr Glaisher nar rowly escaped an ac c id ent which might have proved serious. On leaving the office of Mr Wallace, the gas director, which is under repair, a cauldron of molten metal used for guttering fell from ththehous top over the d oorwa y th r o ug h which Mi Gl a i sher was in the caused him t o s t art suddenly bae e k in t alarm, of passin passing The crash otwithstand ing which he was parstiahlliyghspreienkthleed with the boili ng fl u id, which rebounded as clothes, et was a bruise on th e r i ght cheek. His Hi s on l y i n j ury s bore traces of the acc id ent, large quantities however,e metal adhering to his coat, trousers, and hat, THE SUN, _LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 2, 1864. The Murder in Clerkenwell-Clo se. Yesterday, at the Clerkenwell police-court, Alfred Jack lon, aged 22, was brought up on remand before Mr D'Eyn- oourt, charged with the wilful murder of Francis Plowman Robert. It will be remembered that the prisoner and the deceased were fellow-workmen, in the employ of Messrs French and Sons, jewellers, Clerkenwell.close, and that on the night of the 23d ult. groans and cries of " Murder" were heard tc proceed from the workshop of Messrs French and Sons, Clerkenwell-close, and immediately afterwards the prisoner was seen to rush out of the workshop, jump upon a pump in the back yard, get upon the wall, and escape, but was sub- sequently apprehended. The deceased was found in the shop covered with blood. He died in a few hours afterwards. - Mr Ricketts appeared for the friends of the deceased ; Mr J. Wakeling for the prisoner; the case being in the hands of Inspector Potter, acting inspector G division. Mr Ricketts said he proposed to submit in evidence the statement made by the deceased before death, he then having a sense of danger. Mr Wakeling—l object to that evidence being received. Mr Ricketts, on the former examination, said it was inad missible as evidence. Mr Lewis—The case of the Queen v. Foster will meet the case. Mr D'Eyncourt—We will take the medical evidence first. Mr W. Eccles. house surgeon at St Bartholomew's Hos pital, said when the deceased was admitted into the hoapital - _ I believe he was in full possession of his senses. I have made a post mortem examination, and found the scalp exceedingly bruised. I discovered a fracture of the left side of the skull, extending upwards to the top of the head. The fracture affected a blood vessel. The fracture extended in various directions. As far as I can tell from the appearance of the skull, two blows caused the fracture. There were two ex terior bruises over the fracture. The deceased could not have inflicted those injuries on himself. The blow or blows must have produced the fracture, and must have been given with great force. The cause of death was the effusion of blood pressing on the brain caused by the fracture. The depositions taken at the first examination having been read, Mr D'Eyncourt said, with respect to the statement of the deceased, when he was found and asked by the witness Brunton who did it, and he said " Jackson." he was in clined to think it was evidence, and as it was down on the depositions he should take it as evidence. After a discussion with the solicitors, Mr D'Eyneourt decided not to receive that evidence, but :0 let the solicitor for the prosecution be aware of it at the ,rial. Mr Ricketts said he should show that some rings and pieces of gold had been missed from the over• time box on the prisoner's bench. That would show the motive. Mr Wakeling objected to that evidence being received. Mr D'Eyncourt—This is a peculiar case. There were seve ral people about, and any one might have taken the things. Mr French examined—l live at 5, Newcastle-place, Clerkenwell. lam a jeweller. The deceased and prisoner were in my employ. On the evening of the 23d ult., I fol lowed Brunton into the yard about half past ten. I saw the deceased in the workshop. He was standing against the door, leaning against the shop, bleeding very much. I spoke to the deceased. It was about half a minute after I first saw him. I said, "My poor boy, who has done this." He said " Jackson. ' lam certain it was not more than half a minute. I helped Mr Brunton to put deceased on the stairs. Mr Brunton then left. I next said, " What did he do it for." Mr Wakeling—This is the evidence I object to; Mr D'Eyncourt, after hearing witness's evidence in pri. vate, decided that he would take the evidence on the depo. sitions. Mr D'Eynoourt to the witness—Did you hear the ads, mation made by Thomason that a man had got over the wall : Witness—Yes. Miss Ann French—l live at 5, Newcastle-place. I re. member the night of Wednesday, the 2Ed of last month. I remember the French workman leaving by going through the house about 10 o'clock. There was no one with him, At the time he left the house I put the chain up on the back door. No one could open the door from the outside while the chain was up. Mr D'Eyncourt—What door is that Witness—The door leading from the house to the yard. There is no means of getting:out after dusk except through that door. When I locked the door I did not know that there was any one in the workshop. I then went into the back parlour, over which is the door of the yard. I remained there until the alarm. No one passed through. By Mr Wakeling—l was in the parlour with Mr French talking, I was sitting at the table near the door. The door might have been shut• Sergeant Baldock examined—At 4 o'clock on the morning of the 24th ult, the prisoner Jackson was brought to the Clerkenwell police station. I was told he was charged with a violent assault on a man named Roberts, a follow-work man, in the workshop at 5, Newcastle-place. I told him I should detain him there until I had sent to the hospital to ascertain if the man was dead. He would then be charged with wilful murder. He was dead. Re was about to speak, and I cautioned him. I told him he need not make any statement to me, but if he did it might be used as evidence against him. He said " I know nothing of it. I never struck him. I and Roberts were left together in the work shop till 25 minntes past 10. I left by the front door. I closed the front door after me. No one saw me close it." I asked if those were the clothes he had on all day. lie said "I have no other." I ex amined his overcoat. It was wet through. It was a wet night. Under the sleeve of the under part of the right elbow I found a quantity of wet mud. On the knee of the trousers I saw white as if from whitewash or mortar. The next day I examined the workshop wall and I found marks as it made by a person getting over. The walls were rough east with concrete. It was a very wet night. I also examined the window occupied by Mr Thomason, and as an experi• ment to see if a person could be recognised at that point the lights were put down. One of Mr French's workmen got over the wall, and I went into the workshop, and out of 20 men I identified the man who got over, A plan of the premises was handed in by Inspector Potter. Gustavus Gouges, 15, Garnault-place—l am a diamond cutter. I remember Wednesday, November 23. I work at Messrs French and Son's. I knew the deceased. I left the workshop at ten o'clock. I left Jackson upstairs and Roberts downstairs. Mr D'Eyncourt—ls there a workshop upstairs as well as downstairs ? Witness—Yes. Witness—When I left Roberts and the prisoner were the only two left there. I wished the prisoner good night. I knew of no difference between the two. I asked the prisoner to leave, and he said he was going to stop later. He was working by himself when I left. Both of them were quite sober. Mr Ricketts—That is my case. Mr Wakeling—l shall reserve the defenco. The prisoner was then committed for trial at the Central Criminal Court on a charge of wilful murder. The prisoner was then removed. The Leeds Banking Company, Yesterday a meeting, under the winding-up of this cor poration, was held at the chambers of Vice-Chancellor Kin dersley, Lincoln's Inn, before Mr Nickley, the chief clerk. It had been arranged at the sitting previously held that three representative cases should be selected for investiga tion, and that these should govern a large number of others in which the principle of contribution involved was the 1 same. The first case was that of a Mr Crosland, deceased, and his executors, after a short technical discussion, were placed on the list, until further information was obtained as to the vulue of the estate. The next was that of Thomas Brumfit, Thomas Crad dick, and Thomas Craven, executors of the late James Craddick, of Leeds. Mr Denton, from the office of Messrs Frcshfield and Co., said that this was a case of representative character. The official manager believed the estate of Mr Craddick was quits able to pay, but some further information was re quired. Mr Nelson, solicitor to the executors, stated that the shares alluded to were specifically bequeathed, and a bill in Chancery was about to be filed to determine from what fund the amount of the call was to be derived. There was no doubt the estate was sufficient to meet its liabilities, The will was proved for £7,000. Mr Denton said that the estimated call then would re quire £3,ooo—half the estate nearly. Mr Buckley said he should "settle" the executors in their representative character on the list, without preju dicing the right of the official manager to put anyone else on the list hereafter. Mr Torr, solicitor, objected that the present was not a model case. Were they always, at those moetiegs, either to adjourn the consideration of cases or exompt them as spe cialities, or to clog decisions with reserved points? Surely some instance could be found among those called on as contributories involving a principle which could rule half a dozen or a dozen others. Mr Denton said that Mr Craddick signed the original deed. The names of his executors were placed on the books of the Leeds Banking Company, and they had for a long period up to Feb. 3, 1801, drawn the dividends accruing on the sharez. Tho next name was that of Mr John Chalk Barret, of Liverpool, but before it was gone into, Mr Bunting, solicitor, saicl it seemed to him that they were in reality making no progress at all. They should go on from time to time, semingly for ever. Unless Mr Bar rotes case was all fours, similar to that of his (Mr Bunt ing's) client's, what good was it to him ? Mr Turquand said it was impossible to raise a case which should resemble every other in every minuto point. Mr Buckley said he could not choose the cases. That was the work of the official liquidator. Mr I'atteson said he appeared for Mr Barrett. Mr Denton said that the gentlemen signed the deed of settlement (which he produced) for ten original shares of £lOO each. Clause 3of that document fixed the capital of the company at £1,000,000, divided into £l,OOO shares of £lOO each, and provided that the shareholders should have power to increase the capital, and the directors the power of allotting the new stock to the existi ng shareholders in pro- portions to their respective holdings, or disposing of it in such manner as would "best promote the interest and credit of the company." The deed was signed for 7,349 shares, leaving 2,660 untaken up. Mr Barrett afterwards took fur ther shares, bringing up his total to 55. He received his dividends on all his shares which he had held respectively since 1832, 1836, and 1857, and he was returned regularly to the Stamp-office. At a meeting of the bank directors, held in June, 1864, they resolved to issue these surplus shares to all present holders of shares in the proportion of one for every five if they chose to take them up. A circular to this effect was prepared, and the amount to be paid for each fixed at £3O. In reply to this document Mr Barrett wrote from Liverpool on August 2, 1864, sending a cheque on Roberts, Lubbock, and Co. for £660, the amount payable on 22 shares which had been allotted to him, and desiring that the usual certificate might be sent to him. This, how ever, was delayed, and on receipt of the usual report in the beginning of February, 1864—declaring 15 per cent divi dend and 10 per cent bonus, and stating the profits on the year to be £44,000, and the reserve fund £90,000. Mr Bar rett wrote to the manager, Mr Greenland—" It is pleasing to congratulate you on your successful operations during 1863. Wishing you increased health, &c." (Laughter.) The bank stopped payment on Sept. 17, 1864. Mr Barrett (added Mr Denton) was quite welcome to his certificate now. (Laughter.) What was now asked was that the name of Mr Barrett be placed on the list. Mr Patteson handed in the affidavit of his client, which he stated raised the question of wilful misrepresentation. Mr Buckley thought it must be remembered that Mr Barrett was a partner. Mr Watson—A case of self-delusion. (Laughter.) Mr Patteson relied on the flagrant misrepresentation contained in the report of Feb. 4, 1864. This document was sent to Mr Barrett, and was read by him. He had no opportunity of inspecting the books or verifying the ac counts, and was consequently entirely guided by this docu ment. On the 26th of May, being in Leeds, he called on Mr Greenland, the manager, at his private residence, and he corroborated in general and glowing terms the statements made in the report, telling Mr Barrett of the intention of the directors to issue the reserved shares ; and had it not been for all this, that gentleman would not have had any thing to do with the matter further. What he (Mr Patte son) required wae, evidence in reference to what the state of the bank really was on Feb. Ist, 1864. What he contended was, that the £44,000 "profit" and the " reserved fund" of £90,000 had really had no existence at all. He was aware of the difficulty of obtaining such information. Mr Turquand thought there could be little doubt that its state in August was the same as its condition in Feb• ruary, and vice versa. Mr Patteson—Will you give us a formal admission of tat ? Mr Tur quand would not say a profit was not undo ; but the losses must be taken into account before solvency could bo pronounced on. Profit was only profit after all losses contingent or otherwise were calculated. Mr Buckley—Either Mr Barrett is bound by the repre sentations of the directors after tying his own hands, or he is not. Mr Denton eaid that the deed provided for the appoint ment of a committee of inspection on the motion of any shareholder, in the event of dissatisfaction with the ac count; but Mr Barrett had had a large share of profit, and desired more shares to increase it. It would, indeed, be a curious thing if ho could escape now, Mr Buckley—Suppose the bank was now carrying on its operations and making large profits would Mr Barrett re. _ _ fuse to receive any amount offered him ? That really must be the governing principle. Mr Patteson said his main argumont was fraud, but Messrs Fresbfield wanted to confine the matter to a ques tion of contract. Mr Buckley—Then that must be raised by an inspection of the books. Consideration postponed accordingly. It transpired incidentally that Mr Greenland, the manager of the defunct bank, was one of its shareholders, The meeting was again adjourned. Ten Days of a Clergyman's Life in the Navy. (Copy.) Her Majesty's ship Resistance, Malta, Oct. 6, 1864. Statement of Grievances complained of by the Rev. Frederic Gutteres, Chaplain and Naval Instructor of her Majesty's ship Resistance, and respectfully submitted to the consi deration of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, Last Easter I commenced, with Captain Chamberlain's consent, a voluntary service on the Sunday afternoons. On Sunday, Sept. 25, just before this service, I received a note from Captain Chamberlain, informing me that he had ordered one of the midshipmen to attend this service until the end of the year, and requesting me to report to him if his order should be disobeyed. On Tuesday morning (27th) I took an on3ortunity of speaking to Captain Chamberlain on the subject of this note, telling him that I thought he must have written it without due consideration, as, of course, it would be impossible for me as a clergyman to act as a spy on my congregation, or to report who were, or who were not, present for punishment ; I said at the same time how strongly I disapproved of the punishment itself. Captain Chamberlain at first denied that it was a punish ment; but corrected himself, and said that it was inflicted for inattention at morning service. On my saying that I could not report the boy, Captain Chamberlain said, "Then you refuse to assist me ?'' I said I did no 5 , that, on the contrary, I was always, as ho well knew, most ready and willing to assist him to the best of my power, but that this would place ran in so false a position with my congregation that 1 must decline the office. After some further conversation to the same effect we parted, Captain Chamberlain saying, "I shall make a note of your objection," In the same afternoon I received another note from Captain Chamberlain requesting me to send him the one he had written on Sunday, as he wished to know the exact words of it. Thinking this a good opportunity, I took up the note myself ; a long conversation ensued. I expressly doing said that I had not the slightest fe e li ng o f oppos i t i on to Captain Chamberlain ; that I was mo s t sorry not to b e a bl e to do as he requested ; that this was not a quest i on o f obey ing or notre b it would or of not doing what I n d as a clergyman to do ; adding that he must know how anxi ous I a l ways was to assist him in every way I could ; remindi ng hi m h ow I con tinually gave up my opinion to his, and thought it was the duty of everybody in the ship,When possible, to do so ; but that when it came to a question of conscience I could not give in for anybody ; that I might be mistaken in my judgment on this point, but that I could not possibly be mistaken in not doing what I felt I should be wrong to do. Our interview ended (as it had been conducted throughout) in a most friendly manner, Captain Chamberlain saying that he was sorry I took the view of the case I did, and I telling him that I felt convinced that when he thought the matter well over he would see that I could not act otherwise than I was acting. When I left the cabin I thoroughly believed that the whole matter was ended, and, as I was happy to think, without unpleasant feeling on either side. So convinced of this was I that I left the original note on Captain Chamberlain's writing table, and when he sent it to me, as he afterwards did, I destroyed it, not caring to keep any record of the matter. On Friday morning (we had arrived at Malta from Naples at 9 a.m. on Wednesday) I received a message saying that the captain wished to speak to me on deck. On getting there I found Captain Chamberlain, who walked aft with the commander, first lieutenant, and myself. When sit he said " I wish to speak to you on the subject of that note which I wrote to you on Sunday. On Tuesday you told me you objected to do as I then desired you, and thinking I might have misunderstood you, I speak to you now, in the presence of these officers, and wish to know if you still object." I answered, " I most certainly do object; and I thought, Captain Chamberlain, that the whole subject had been finished on Tuesday." After a few more sentences he said "If you still object to do as I request You. I must give you an order to the same effect, not written, but orally, in the presence of these officers. Will you or will you not obey it ?" I answered " I cannot." Then he answered, "It only remains for me to place you under arrest." I said " Captain Cham berlain, I have been ten years in her Majesty's navy, and during that time have never had an unpleasant word with any captain I have served with but with yourself, and so am utterly ignorant of what that involves; will you kindly inform me ?" He — 0 answered_ Not to leave the ship, and suspension from all duties." I then went below, and the captain left to see the admiral. At 12'301 was again told the captain wished to see me on deck, and there I found him with the commander and first lieutenant. He said to me—" You arc released from your arrest. and aro to return to your duty without prejudice to any trial or inquiry which the admiral may hereatter think it right to order." I bowed and retired. At 1..30 I asked leave to go on shore, which was granted ; but just as I was about to leave the ship Captain Chamber lain came on deck and said " I am afraid I cannot let you go ; lam very sorry, but I am afraid I must keep you on board." I said "Do not apologise, Captain Chamberlain ; if it is your duty of course you must perform it," and I again went below, wondering much at the anomaly of my po sition as being released from my arrest and still a prisoner. At 4 o'clock (the captain having been occupied until then) I went into his cabin and said, "I come, sir, to ask you on what grounds you refused me leave to go on shore ?" Ho answered, " Going on shore is an indulgence, and you have refused to obey my orders." I said, "Then, sir, you take upon yourself to punish me ?" " No," he said, "I do not consider this a punishment." " I do, sir," I answered, and withdrew. On Saturday morning I wrote to the Commander-in- Chief, through Captain Chamberlain, laying these facts be fore him, and appealing to him, since, I said, I could not as a clergyman quietly submit to such indignities. On Saturday and again on Monday Mr Cleugh, the Government chaplain of Valetta, called on me at the ad miral's request to see if ho could not arrange the matter. I said that I should be delighted if he could, without making me disobey my conscience; but as the only terms he:was empowered to offer were that I would obey the order, of course his kind intervention could come to nothing. On Tuesday (4th) Capt, Chamberlain returned from the commander in chief, and sent for me with the commander and first lieutenant into his cabin, and then told me that he substituted for his original order one to the effect that I should, on every Monday morning, take efficient steps to ascertain whether the boy had been at afternoon service on the day before, and if not to report such absence to him. I received the order under protest, and appealed to the admi ral against it, on the ground that I was not an executive officer and did not know how to take these steps, and also because Capt. Chamberlain had refused to assist mo in the matter; he having, when I asked him to do so, answered " There is your order, sir, it is for you to obey it." lat the same time appealed to the admiral on the score of having been confined to the ship ever since last Friday. Soon after this Capt. Fellowes, of the flag ship, came on board and had a long interview with me, and having per suaded me that I could obey this new order, I withdrew my appeal, reserving to myself the right to take any further step I might please in the case. I then in the presence of Capt. Fellowes, the commander, and the first lieutenant, asked Capt. Chamberlain about my confinement to the ship. Ho answered, that was entirely in the admiral's hands, but that he had no doubt now that I had accepted the order it would be immediately withdrawn. At 7 p.m. Commander Fairfax received a memorandum from Capt. Chamberlain to the effect that he was to inform me that I was released from my art est. . Having made this statement I respectfully appeal to their lordships. I think they will consider that I have been oppressively treated by Captain Chamberlain; first, inas , much as ho gave me an order which he had learnt from myself that I could not in conscience obey ; and then for placing me under arrest for not obeying such an order • . so given. . . ) As regards the confinement to the ship (from Friday, at 12,30, when I was released from arrest, until Tuesday, seven p.m., when I was again released.) I think their lordships will consider that Capt. Chamberlain by saying, when I asked him why my leave was stopped, " Leave is an indulgence, and you have refused to obey my order ;" and again by saying that, " Ho did not consider it a punish ment," did not plainly allow that he stopped my leave by his own authority and his own act (although the admiral may afterwards have taken upon himself the responsibility). and which act wae, I urge, even if legal, most oppressive. I most respectfully, therefore, appeal to their lordships to grant me such redress as they may think fit for this treatment, which treatment I received, too, for refusing to obey an order which the commander in chief must have thought unjustifiable, or he would not have caused Captain Chamberlain to withdraw it after my having so pointedly and fixedly said I could not obey it, and also for the suffer ing which their lordships must perceive I have undergone during the past week. I also respectfully appeal to their lordships to cause the order which obliges this poor boy to attend Divine service as a punishment to be rescinded. (Signed) F. E. GUTTERES, Chaplain and Naval Instructor. The Admiralty having received the above appeal, have directed the commander in chief, Admiral Smart, to hold a private court of inquiry, and report his opinion of these transactions, in which, if this statement be true, he is himself one of the principal actors. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES.—It was not without reason that the Arne rioans anticipated an eventful period in the year 1864. Both Federals and Confederates have made greater efforts than in any former campaigns, and though the results have in themselves been as inde cisive as ever, yet the close of the year finds the belligerents in such critical positions that the con test, if not terminated by agreement, must enter upon a fresh stage as inscrutable cnd unpromis% ing as the first. It would be premature to strike the balance of. success between North and South until we learn the end of that mysterious expedition on which a Federal General and army have recently disappeared. Such a phenomenon as that presented by Sherman's movements has never been witnessed in any hut Asiatic war; and even when Sir Charles Napier vanished in the Scinclian Desert it was known what he designed, and upon what point he was march ing. But General Sherman, with 50,000 men under his command, has been missing for weeks without leaving a sign of his intent, or even a truce of his direction. The Americans either do not know or will not tell what has become of him, and the po- pular conjectures of his destination are so vague and various as to include Cnarleston and Lynchburg, Savannah and Mobile. On the end of this enterprise, however, the balanea of Federal gain or loss will mainly depend.,The capture of Atlanta was thegreat achievement of Northern arms in the present cam- paign. If it should culminate in some ulterior and more important triumph,the balance of fortune will be in favour of the Federals—if it should end in a reverse, the Confederates will be materially the gainers on the score of the year. They have success fully resisted the enemy in Virginia, and President Davis has just been enabled to sketch, after the fashion of Mr Seward, the ground that has been re gained by his Government in the campaign of '6l. But, apart from these military calculations, there are circumstances in the relative positions of the belligerents which will impart a most critical cha racter to the resolutions which within the next few weeks they may respectively adopt. It is the remark of an American that America never has more than four years of history. The election of a new Pre• sident obliterates all previous annals, and opens a now and distinct era in the national life. The re- mark is no longer so true as it was, but there is no doubt that the Mr. Lincoln of 1865 will - not be the Mr. Lincoln of 1864. lie will not he under the same obligations, temptations, or inducements. It will be a now reign, though of the same king. lie may either terminate this war by negociation cr commence it anew. It is already presumed that he will embrace the former alternative if possible, and as the proposition oame from so fierce a partisan as General Butler himeelf, the popular belief in its adoption is probably correct. Nor can we wonder at the decision. If the war is to go on, Mr. Lincoln must begin afresh to raise armies oven larger than before, although the expedients of volunteering and bounties have been nearly exhausted, and conscrip. tion is the only resource. lie must begin again to borrow in the name of the nation, though the national debt is already as heavy as our own, or he must begin to tax his constituents in reality, which may, perhaps, be more difficult still. The other day the Confederate Government thought it worth while to circulate a statement of the Federal debt, transcribed from Federal statements, in the belief that nothing beyond the sight of such figures would be necessary to stop all further supplies of money from European lenders. In the year 1861 the credit and confidence of the people were boundless alike'; and yet, though starting with those untouched and apparently inexhaustible resources, Mr Lincoln has only arrived at the point where he now finds himself. Easy, therefore, is it to understand that he would be glad to make peace, and the commencement of a new term of office furnishes him with a singular opportunity for the proposal. But what will the South say P It will have been oboerved that the conditions of peace suggested by General Butler are more liberal than those formerly talked of. They include an absolute, immediate, and universal amnesty, comprising even those leaders of the rebellion who were once excluded from mercy. They offer com plete and unconditional oblivion of the past—all by gones to be bygones, and nothing to be thought of but Union once more. Of the great question of slavery not a syllable was uttered, and we may shortly perhaps have an opportunity of ascertaining from infallible evidence how far those authorities are right who have proclaimed slavery as the origin, cause, and subject of this civil war. Will the North offer to leave slavery alone, or glide over the question by an acceptable compromise? Will the South close with such terms ? In short, will the North sacrifice Abolition to Empire, and will the South sacrifice Independence to Slavery ? We know what Mr, Seward thinks on this question, lie thinks, or thought, three months ago, that the Con• federates would make independence exactly such a basis of negotiation as the Federals would make of union, and there is little in the present aspect of affairs to invalidate that opinion. The South has lost one chance in the peaceable and decisive re. election of Mr. Lincoln; It was possible that in the conflict of opinions attending a Presidential Election either a peace:party might acquire influ. enee or the war party might have been weak ened by divisions ; and, indeed, it is well known that the Confederates anticipated the period of election as a time which ' might produce various advantages to their cause. Those expectations have not been realized. If the Southerners really preferred Lincoln to M.Clellan, they have so fur been gratified, but beyond this they remain . state quo, with the evidence before them that as far as present sentiments aro concerned the North is prepared to commence a fresh s e ries of cam paigns rather than lot them go as they desire. So far, therefore, they have been disappointed. We cannot, however, discover in any proceedings of the Confederates a disposition to forego the object of their struggle, nor can we discern in the recent events of the war anything which should induce them to think worse than formerly of their prospects of success. That their finances are inconceivably de ranged is true, but they enjoy in this matter an ad vantage without parallel or precedent. In their stores of cotton they possess a commodity little less nego tiable than gold itself. For this material half Europe is craving, and any blockade runner that can get into a Southern port with munitions or merchandise is sure of a return cargo as convertible into specie as an English bank-note. If the Confederates have not money they have money's worth, and so valuable is their medium of exchange that all risks are incurred to obtain it. It is by this that they have been enabled to attract to their ports all the products of Europe and America too. Except with cotton they could hardly have paid for a dozen cargoes, and the Fede. rals have shown their perception of the truth in the efforts they have made to reach the cotton stores of the South, and to export from New Orleans what is now carried away from Wilmington. This unique resource, however, the Confederates retain still, and they have the resource, also, of their black popula• tion for the reinforcement of their armies when they choose to employ it; At present they seem to con sider that their necessities are not such as to drive them to that expedient which the Federals were fain to embrace some time ago ; and whereas President Lincoln declarea that the war cannot be carried on without negro soldiers, President Davis, on his side, sees no necessity for yet enlisting them. In men and money, therefore, the means of the South are sufficient for the continuance of the oontest, its spirit appears unabated, and its actual achievements in this last campaign will at least bear comparim with those of the North. But though we cannot forecast the answer which may be given, we can foresee that the question of peace or war may soon be put under such conditions as will decide the policy of the belligerents once and for all. Each party may now reconsider its position by the light of four years' experience, each may again learn its own mind, and take its decision. Such an occasion has not happened before since the beginning of the war, nor for at least four years to come is it likely to happen again. HERALD.—A groat deal of feeble facetiousness has been expended on the dearth of current topics in the dull season which is supposed to drive jour- nalists to their wits' end. Popular pleasantry on the subject even go©s so far as to suggest political writers sitting down and concocting paragraphs about showers of frogs and enormous gooseberries, in order to diversify their columns and give their readers something to talk about. That such ap. pearances are more manifest in the public journals in some periods of the year than in others is not to be denied. But it does not follow that the records of such phenomena are imaginary, for it is a fact that showers of frogs do take place, and from ascer• tained causes, and it is also true that gooseberries and such small fruit occasionally assume proportions undreamed of in the philosophy of market garden ers. Apart, however, from this question, we may safely assert that, whatever the time of year, the conductor of a public journal is seldom at a loss for subjects of interest wherewith to satisfy his readers. It may be a providential arrangement which does better than temper the wind to the shorn lamb by making► the lamb sufficiently woolly to be independent of the blast. But it most certainly happens that when Parliament is nowhere in par. titular, when Ministers make no sign, and the Op• position have naturally no sign to make to any prac tical purpose, the world out of doors never fails to force matters upon the attention of the journalist which deserve or demand attention. And even granting that the writer has comparative leisure to look about him, such a condition is clearly to the advantage of the public, since it enables him to do useful work in the byways which he could never hope to accomplish on the high road of politics, where the race must be to the swift and the battle to the strong as far as the immediate contest is concerned. We all venture to declare, indeed, that some of the most valuable work of the press is performed during the Parliamentary recess, when Government and Opposition—besieged and be siegers—have suspended active hostilities ; when, under a flag of truce, they mingle in comparative amity, dine together at neutral tables, and discover perchance that neither are quite so bad as they seem in the heat and fury of pulling one another to pieces. Far be it from us todesip any ridiculous moderation when the campaign has fairly com menced, to deprecate hard hitting when hitting must be the order of the day. In proper time and season let us have war to the constitutional knife. In the meantime, we know that those in possession are strengthening their works, or trying to do so, and that we in our place are certainly advancing our parallels and encompassing the doomed city on different sides. Why not, then, pull together upon what neutral ground may remain so long as active hostilities are postponed ? Happily there is a tacit arrangement to that effect, and upon social affairs generally we justify the poet laureate's philosophi. cal belief that for a good end of some kind all parties are combined. Here is an illustration of the advantage of a recess. Who in the heat of the session, having much care for politica, would trouble himself about the Guild of Literature and Art ? Some of our readers may have forgotten what the Guild of Literature and Art happens to be. We have, fortunately, time to tell them. The Guild of Literature and Art is an institution projected by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Mr Charles Dickens, and an association of kindred spirits, having for its object—well, something not very clearly defined, except as regards its general purpose, to improve the position of persons engaged in literary and artistic pursuits who may be less fortunate than their neighbours, and to encourage provident habits in others, so that they may be saved from falling into the same category. In order to meet existing wants, incidental at least to old age, a sufficiently intelligible plan is proposed—that of providing dwelling accommodation and annuities to a certain number of persons to be elected from time to time —the dwellings to be erected upon land which Sir Edward Lytton has handsomely given for the purpose. Towards the ways and means Mr Dickens and tho band of theatrical amateurs, now broken up, gave a series of performances, and the result, after the payment of all expenses, with the addition of some independent subscriptions, is a fund of, we believe, nearly £4,000, at the disposal of the committee of the guild for employment in whatever form may be ultimately selected. What will they do with it ? The question debated some years ago still remains unanswered. 'rho summer before last an attempt was made to set the undertaking once more in motion, and a meeting was held at which some little progress was reported and a great deal promised. This year, we believe, the members have met; but if the results of their deliberations were published they have not attracted our attention. At any rate, we see no sign of any advancement being made in the main, and, as far as we can understand, the only practical object proposed. The home for the pensioners ap pears to have as little chance of existence as the pensioners themselves. It cannot be that the delay is merely attributable to the proverbial cause — everybody's business being nobody's business. The gentlemen concerned have exerted themselves ac tively in benevolent projects before now—there is no reason why their aid should not be forthcoming in the present case, which is one particularly con cerning their own calling. The fact we believe to be, that promoters of the scheme have no heart in it. They have discovered, as everybody else discovered long ago, that the plan is distasteful to the class for which it isintended, and that in its present form it is ;not wanted and will not work. A literary man or an artist must be very old and very helpless before he would consent to shut himself up in an almshouse for the remainder of his days, and the cases of men who would be fittin g a n d willing objects of such charity are so few th a t they may be left without much fear to be dealt with by special means. To connect such misfortune with any thing like an institution seems to us undesirable, and even mis chievous to this extent—that the most deserving objects would be the least likely to avail themselves of its advantages. For many reasons, indeed, into which it is unnecessary here to enter, it is the opie mon of most competent persons who have considered the subject that the plan of an asylum is not adapted to the ends in view. Far better would be a simple benefit society, like the Theatrical Fund. But the most satisfactory form, perhaps, would be that of an assurance office, which, backed up with a handsome endowment and such subscriptions and donations as the public might choose to contribute, might do business at a rate so low as to render it available to persons of the most limited resources. By this means provision might bo made either for a sum of money at a certain age, or at death for the benefit of survivors ; and to proper persons loans might be made upon easy and advantageous terms. The usual conditions of an assurance office, in fact, would be applicable to the purpose, with the result that a large number of struggling per sons would be assisted, and saved, perhaps, from finding themselves qualified, in more advanced age, for the asylum at present proposed. To belong to such an institution need not lower the dignity of any man. In the regular professions assistance in a more directly charitable form is made in many cases. There are several societies for the benefit of clergymen ; solicitors, if we mistake not, have some institution for the relief of members of that body; and the officers of the army have not thought it de rogatory to their profession to set on foot a sub scription for schools for the education of their daughters on reduced terms. Other instances might be cited, but the classes concerned can scarcely require a justification of the principle, es pecially as any among them who may not care to receive the amount of his assurance can always make a present of it to the institution. We have thrown out these remarks with all respect for the promoters of the Guild of Literature and Art, and in thorough appreciation of their services and in tentions. But wo believe their plan to be a mis take, and should be glad to see it abandoned for something more acceptable to the class appealed to —something, in fact, which is wanted and will work. The Head• Mastership of York Cathedral Gram mar School, rendered vacant by the appointment of the Rev. Wm. Hey, M.A., to a oanonry residentiary in York Cathedral, has been conferred on the Rev. Richard Elwyn, M.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge, late headmaster of Charterhouse School. Mr Elwyn graduated in 1849, when lie was 14th junior optima in tho mathematical tripos, and let in the first class in classics, Wear and Tear of Railway Working, At the meeting on Wednesday night of the SO ciety of Arts, W. Brydges Adams read a paper on the " Mechanical Conditions of Railway W orking to Prevent Destructive Wear and Risk." Captain Galton, R.E., occupied the chair. Going first into the elementary mechanical condition of vehicular transport, Mr Adams came to the commencement of the railway system, and condemned at the outset what is still the common practice with regard to rolling stock—viz., ignoring wheels running inde pendently on their axles, and adopting the old classic car system of rollers fixed on a shaft or axle, which revolves with them in hole pins, or what are novt termed horn plates. Pointing out the difference between tramways and railways, he showed that vehicles with fixed wheels and parallel axles were only adapted to move in straight lines. Adverting next to the modifications of rails and wheels to meet the curves and gradients of our iron roads he showed how much frictional and percussional des struction still went on. This rapid wear of tires and rails had led to greatly increased weight Of rails, and now to harder and heavier, and finally to Bessemer metal and Krupp's solid steel. H° next showed the ill effect of extreme rigidity la railway wheels and axles in causing wear and tear, and explained an invention of his own by which springs were placed beneath the tires of wheels. The result of this method was that some Staffordshire tires ran 106,000 miles on the North London Railway without turning up, while some Low Moor rigid tires fixed on a similar principle only ran 50,00 0 miles before they had to be taken off and turned up to restore their surface. Explaining how the same elastic principles had been applied to rails with the most satisfactory result—for after three years' wear they had not disintegrated at all, except where cor. netted rigidly to the ordinary line, and there the ends of the rails were split—he explained the best means of applying this elastic principle by WI" proved systems of sleepers and fishes. He nest pointed out the importance of true mechanical action in the movement of wheels and axles, and the ad. , vantage of radial movement in the axles. Explain' ing the first attempts to secure these advantages by the " bogey," the lecturer explained how he bad abandoned the bogey form altogether, and adopted axle boxes toslide in curved lines laterally through the horn plates of a rigid engine frame beneath the spring bearings. This plan in practice had been found to give good results. As a means of securing greater adhesion between wheels and rails, he sue gested converting the rounded flanges of the wheel tires into two flats, at an angle of 45 deg., and ea' larging them to take a corresponding groove formed in the surface of the rail. The improvements, there' fore, may be summed up by spring tires, angle flanges, and elastic permanent way.—ln the die d cession which followed, a foreign engineer sag a gested that elasticity might be given to rails 1 4 making them of puddled steel, and of flat-bottou s form, and of rails with puddled steel tops and iron base. Another speaker explained an improved mode of fixing rails, the invention of the recentli deceased Mr Jewett, by which they are set in a groove in the sleeper, and partly supported in 6 plate running through the rail. Mr Zerah Col' borne endorsed the soundness of Mr Adams prim' ciples, and explained the form of rails and rolling in America, which had been adopted to secure those advantages. The Chairman said that the, important subject which Mr Adams had introduced was nothing less than a radical change in the co s ` struction of our railways, both as to road and toll ing stock. As experience had shown the correct ness of Mr Adams' principles he thought no 00 would object to giving them a trial, without which it was impossible to express a decided opinion on new proposal in regard to railways. A vote ° L ,hanks to Mr Adams concluded the proceedings. COUNTRY MARKETS. BIRMINGHAM—THURSDAY. There was a moderate supply of English wheat in market to-day, whioh moved off at last week's quotatio! A slow demand for barley, with a f a i r show, at late priel: Oats were not plentiful. Beans were sold only in retl 6o —English wheat was sold at 40 s to 41 s for white , and to to 41s per 36 stone fur red. Barley, new malting, 29 no 34s per qr ; grinding, 228: to 255. Oats, old, 24 s to 3". per :3O stone; Irish, 108 to 245. Beans, 38s to 42 s per it peas, 36s to 40s per 36 stone. BRISTOL—THURSDAY. A moderate supply of English wheat to-day, Which .k. Foregn of Tlerei t i a slow sale at abOidthe prices of last week. much neglected, but late rates fully supported. SuiPliL6o% barley on the increase, but met with a slow sale at a re des, tion of In per qr on malting and 6d on grinding al'id„ies tilling sorts. Oats firm, and in request. Beans an d L - 11, were the turn in favour of buyers. Indian corn very 4 ' at late rates. MANCHESTER—THURSDAY. 4 0/ There was only a moderate attendance a t our 1111 et this morning, and English wheat was taken off slow 4 oo the currency of last week. American firm. Fiour very slow, and in fav,ur of buyers. Oats and oatmeal In. bo quoted at last week's prices. Beans ruled firth, an d dian corn rather dearer. BURY ST. EDMUND'S—WEDNES)O. .riget There was again a good supply of wheat at this ta),010 to-day, which sold freely at last week's rates. Tir. ° oo , of barley also was good, and fine descriptions brow late rates. Inferior sorts were dull. EDINBURGH GRAIN--WEDNESDAY' bicit Today there was a small supply of country wheat, sc met a fair sale at late rates. p/1' Wheat on the top 4s Od up average Os 4 4 - v ol. Barley on the top Os 6d down average Os I d Oats on the top Os 6d down ...average Os 5d up, Beans on the top 3s Od down .. average 7s 4 c l ''''' Total Supply and Sales. Wheat ... 590 qrs Sold 469 qrs 8ar1ey........2010 qrs Sold 1404 clr B Oats Beans 76 qrs Average Prices. il Wheat 4BO Od I Oats ...... 10 18g oti Barley 3os 6d 1 Beans ............ t ) trO • e% s So ol l d d 163831 qrs Ora Town• made flour sells as follows :—White, 3701 superfine, 35a; superfine, 335; fine, 31s. GLASG OW—WZDNESDAY. A a At this day's market the attendance was thin, dero of arrivals about an average. The wheat trade was IP 11 3 : 3 € . 1 09 1 ' and held for late rates. Barley dull, in the buy ers Barrel flour a snade dearer. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS.DUE. De° 5. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton ..... . : nee . 1 via Marseilles;....... .. Brazil and Cape Verds, by British packet. ....... 4 2'' Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena.. Dom, China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton . ', , via Marseilles ...Dv' , Falkland Islands ...... '' . :Dec. 1, , Gibraltar, via Southampt . on .. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton. •l' )ec , ? 1, via MarseilleB.• • • e c. , India (Bombay), via Southampton ........ e e. via Marseilles .... . . ..veo , u' Portugal.... Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Dec. /‘ via Marseilles ....... • D e c.' Newfoundland • .. 1 Oporto and Vigo .. . ............. n e e. U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet ..•' a by U.S. packet...t.po,ll, by Canadian pac k e 'Dec' 0. W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe...........pco' 0 , West Indies and Pacific ..... ....... • . De c. 0, Bahamas (via New York) .................... .Do 3 ' 0/' Bermuda (ditto) ............................ %Dec. Cuba and Mexico Births. ~ di f f; Nov., P HARDCASTLE.—On the 30th at Feruhill,, l2 ; a d , ° cheater, the wife of Edward Hardcastle, ". daughter. Wif e °I li NAPIER.—On the 30th Nov., at York-road , the OB M. Napier, Ebq., of a ® o re, PRESTON.—On the let inst., at 39, Camden-sq wits of Alfred Preston, Esq . ., of a son. ll° Marriages. t croi o do o FLADGATE—M‘MASTER,—On the 30th Novo 6 ,, r0 V ivo AO F. Pedro G. Fladgate, Esq of Oporto, to,,l'aigel(" second daughter of J.M‘Master, Esq., of to be ,ods, West Croydon. fleet' w- ri JAMESON—ELLETsoN.—On the 30th John May Jameson, Esq., of Fleetwood, youngest daughter of the late Daniel Elletso Parrox Hall. ARCHER. —On Deaths. 0 , 1 t he , o Thomas or. Arch th e z3oth Nov., for antealrBl,yla3n;.epalroscaletiote ii, Oxendon Chapel. D.D., , ; fie 1 1 , 6°1 Acrox.—On the 30th Nov., at Weston Colville /yid, Cambridgeshire, the Rev William Acton,l4o. garP" MARSLAND.—At Wood Bank, Chasha . et 11°1111 I° o Esq., aged 64. STEPHEN.—On the 28th Nov at Clift°°' . ifetirl Stephen, Serjeant-at-Law, aged 7 8 . Albert Tfiel° T w y EI L LB T i. ,A . — amgs On N2 L B h . e o : 9t the h e N n o t v h . , N a o t I . Corn° yrdaorni s r :" % V ir Geo r g e liamson, Esq., of Scarborough. - 4 0 ' Ar 4l)l° London : PrinZed and Prbilshed by VPll`niV e .41 4 of No. 112, Strand, Printer , a t Tia 13 1114 e he Strand, in the Precinct of t he Savoy, al v iiitidivaex.—Friclay, Deoeinber 2, 18* Ot N 44 Iq t , 11 11 4 , " 41to w qt ( 41 ttp tii 1,11 i 1 Ittra.jellt 1 4